At the beginning, when Portland police conduct a successful raid on some nefarious folks, we are introduced to detectives Carly Sagan (Tracey Gold) and her partner Joe Avery (Mitchell Kosterman). They have worked together for two years, although it is apparent that Carly likes to march to the beat of her own drum.
Our protagonists are called in to Safe Harbor, a refuge for abused young adolescents ages 12-16. The haven is owned by wealthy Olivia Wyatt (Pamela Perry). Her assistant is quirky Julia Thorpe (Stacy Grant), who seems to harbor a secret (no pun intended). Wyatt's son Sam (Steve Bacic), an investment broker, is an old friend of Carly. Anyway, a woman's strangled body is found on the harbor's grounds, with a painted red satanic image on the wall next to the body. After investigating, it is found that the young woman was a previous resident of the center. Tracking down the leads points to a previous maintenance man of the harbor, Ray Oakum (Scott Heindl). When the detectives confront him, he shoots his way out. We don't get to see much of him again until well into the second part.
Soon there is another strangled body with a red satanic image, and also another suspect, weird artist Daz Cobair (Jody Racicot). Meanwhile we discover that Carly was once a resident at Safe Harbor; she had witnessed her crazy father shoot her mother to death before turning his pistol on himself. Evidence begins to pile up against Oakum, especially after he has apparently been blackmailing Mrs. Wyatt ($75,000 in three payments) for hiring him in the first place. Julia Thorpe was really responsible for Oakum's hiring (and has obviously been protecting him). Having been imprisoned as a pedophile, he has a criminal background. Revealing this information publicly would have a negative effect on the school. Sam Wyatt has advised his mother to call Oakum's bluff, not to pay the bribe. But in the course of the film, it is revealed that most of the former residents of Safe Harbor matured poorly (into drug pushers, prostitutes, and never-do-well types). Then Mrs. Wyatt herself is found strangled.
This writer has taken you through most of the movie and will stop here so as to preclude any spoilers in the denouement. But there is a dialog involving Carly and another person past the half-way mark that reveals an important clue. See if you can find it.
The movie is not particularly suspenseful, but it is watchable. TV movie was filmed in Vancouver and in British Columbia, Canada.
